Most of today's commercially available personal watercraft have a hull and a deck disposed directly thereon. The deck has a pedestal onto which a straddle-type seat is disposed. When such watercraft travel over waves, the forces due to impacts between the hull and the waves are transferred to the driver and passengers which can make the riding experience uncomfortable, especially over long distances. The only cushioning against these impacts is provided by the padding in the seat.
In an effort to minimize the transfer of these forces to the driver and passengers, some watercraft have a suspension element, such as a spring and damper assembly, disposed between the seat and the deck. Although this reduces the transfers of these forces to the body of the driver and passengers, this arrangement tends to solicit the legs of the driver and passengers more since the seat now moves relative to the footrests formed in the deck.
Another way to minimize the transfer of these forces to the driver and passengers consists in suspending the whole deck above the hull. The engine, fuel tank, and propulsion system are still in and/or connected to the hull and a sub-deck is disposed on the hull to protect the components in the hull from water. The hull and sub-deck together form a hull and sub-deck assembly (HSD) assembly. The deck is suspended on the HSD assembly. In this arrangement, the footrest can still be formed with the deck, and as such the legs of the drivers and passengers are less solicited than in watercraft where only the seat is suspended.
The personal watercraft may have gunnels or other portions of the HSD assembly positioned laterally outwardly of the footrests. In some personal watercraft, there is a gap between the footrests and the HSD assembly. This gap may be the result of manufacturing tolerances. The gap may instead be provided to allow relative motion between the deck and the gunnels, for example in a watercraft where the deck is supported on the hull via a suspension element.
While using a personal watercraft, the driver or a passenger may carry small items such as sunglasses, keys or other accessories. During operation of the watercraft, particularly in rough waters, it is possible for the driver or a passenger to drop one of these items. The dropped item can then fall into the gap between the deck and the HSD assembly, making it difficult to retrieve and possibly requiring removal of the deck from the watercraft to retrieve the item. If the deck is supported above the HSD assembly via a suspension system, the size of the gap may vary, and the possibility of an object falling into the gap is greater when the gap is larger.
Therefore, there is a need for a personal watercraft having a deck, a sub-deck and a hull, wherein the likelihood of objects falling into the gap between the deck and the sub-deck is reduced.